Monthly Archives: May 2014

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian Long Haul) (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) landed the first scheduled Boeing 787 Dreamliner service at Orlando International Airport (MCO) on Thursday night (May 29). The maiden flight from Oslo, Norway to Orlando was the first Boeing 787 to land at MCO. The full flight was greeted with a traditional water salute by the airport rescue fire fighters (ARFF).

Norwegian Air will offer nonstop service between Orlando and Oslo two-days-a-week, Thursdays and Saturdays, with connections to over 94 locations in Europe and Thailand.

Allegiant Air (Las Vegas) yesterday (May 31) started nonstop, seasonal jet service from Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport to Myrtle Beach. The new flights will operate two times a week until August 11, 2014, flying nonstop from Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) to Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR). Myrtle Beach becomes the fourth destination available to Allegiant travelers flying out of CVG, including Sanford, Punta Gorda and St. Petersburg/Clearwater.

In other news, Allegiant Travel Company also announced it has borrowed $40.0 million under a loan agreement with CIT, secured by six Boeing 757-200 aircraft (above) and twelve RB211 engines. The notes payable issued under the loan agreement, bear interest at a floating rate based on London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). The term of the loan is 48 months and the proceeds are to be used for general corporate purposes.

Bombardier (Montreal) late on May 29 suffered another setback with its delayed CSeries airliner. The test aircraft suffered an engine failure while it was on the ground.

Bombardier issued this short statement:

Bombardier confirmed that late on May 29 there was an engine-related incident during stationary ground maintenance testing involving the CSeries FTV1 aircraft at its facility in Mirabel, Québec.

Bombardier is investigating the incident with the support of Pratt & Whitney and the appropriate authorities. Safety is the priority, and the CSeries aircraft flight test program will resume once the investigation is completed.

Boeing (Chicago and Seattle) and JTA-Japan Transocean Air (Naha, Okinawa, Japan) have finalized an order for 12 Next-Generation 737-800 airplanes. The arrival of the new 737-800s in 2016 will mark the start of the airline’s fleet renewal program.

The order, first announced as a commitment on March 27, is valued at $1.1 billion at list prices. As part of the agreement, JTA will also have the flexibility to switch to the 737 MAX family of airplanes.

Based in Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost major island chain, Japan Airlines Group member JTA currently operates a fleet of 737-400 airplanes on domestic routes linking Okinawa with major Japanese cities as well as other Okinawa islands.

The airplanes will be fitted with Boeing’s latest Performance Improvement Package (PIP), delivering an additional 2 percent improvement in fuel efficiency for what is already the most fuel efficient single-aisle airplane in the market. The airplanes will also feature the popular passenger-inspired Boeing Sky Interior, with modern sculpted sidewalls and window reveals, LED lighting that enhances the sense of spaciousness and larger pivoting overhead stowage bins.

PEOPLExpress (2nd) (Vision Airlines dba) (Newport News/Williamsburg) today announced it will commence scheduled passenger operations on June 30 to Boston, Newark and Pittsburgh. Vision Airlines will be operating three Boeing 737-400s under the revived PEOPLExpress brand. The new airline also announced further routes that will be introduced this summer after the initial routes. The company issued this statement:

PEOPLExpress™, the iconic brand that made air travel affordable and accessible, returns to the skies June 30 with low-fare service from Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport to three cities: Boston, Newark, and Pittsburgh.

PEOPLExpress today announced its inaugural schedule at a kick-off event today with Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, local dignitaries, airport officials and new employees. The schedule includes four additional destinations: West Palm Beach, Florida (starting July 15), Atlanta (August 1), and St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida, and New Orleans (August 28).

Vision Airlines, dba PEOPLExpress, will fly Boeing 737-400 aircraft operated by Vision Airlines bearing the logo of the popular 1980s carrier of the same name but with a fresh, green livery.

“From the very beginning, PEOPLExpress was designed to provide a fun, creative and innovative approach to air travel to dispel the myth that low air fares have to mean low service or an impersonal experience,” said Jeff Erickson, a long-time airline executive, on behalf of the carrier. “PEOPLExpress is restoring the concepts of respect, value and excitement to the air travel experience.”

The PEOPLExpress management team identified opportunities in underserved markets from Newport News while developing a service model built on a great experience at a great price.

“Air travel had become an unpleasant, difficult and costly experience for many travelers – and in response to that need the new PEOPLExpress was born with a name that left an indelible mark on aviation history,” Erickson said.

Aegean Airlines (Athens) reported a first quarter net loss of $11.4 million. The company issued this statement:

Aegean reports first quarter 2014 results with consolidated revenue of €133.9 million, and after-tax losses during the seasonally weakest quarter of the year of €8.4 million ($11.4 million). On a pro-forma basis, i.e. assuming consolidation of Olympic Air in the respective period last year, losses narrowed compared to after-tax losses of €13.2 million in the first quarter of 2013 while revenue showed a 1% rise.

It is noted that results are not comparable with reported parent results of 2013 given the fact that the latter set of results did not include Olympic Air (Athens) as the acquisition was completed in October 2013.

Αegean Airlines and Olympic Air carried 1.6 million passengers in the first quarter of 2014, 12% more versus the previous year. Domestic network passengers increased by 17% to 930 thousand while international network passengers reached 700,000, 6% higher versus last year. Load factor improved by 1.8 percentage point to 73%.

Operating cash flow improved significantly resulting to an increase in the company’s cash and cash equivalents to €274 million from €239 million in December 2013.

Mr. Dimitris Gerogiannis, Managing Director, commented:

“Following the acquisition of Olympic Air, the initial benefits from network synergies are already evident and along with our new pricing policy are translated to improved load factors and increased connecting traffic during this seasonally weakest quarter for the year.

Pre-bookings for the summer season as well as our traffic results for April 2014 confirm the positive trend. Our investment in expanding our network and capacity with the addition of 5 airbus aircraft and 17 new international destinations as of May/June, takes place within a rising demand environment. On the other hand, available capacity offered is substantially increased by the majority of operators active to the Greek market.

As far as Olympic Air integration is concerned, implementation is progressing in line with targets, with the full synergy and scale economies benefits expected to mature with the next 12 months. At the same time, innovation and services that add value to our customers remain a top priority.”